


It Actually Happened

by orphan_account



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Lion King (1994) References, NOT Ma///vid, dadvid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: For a short moment, it almost didn't seem real.





	It Actually Happened

**Author's Note:**

> You like my vague summary? I came up with it myself.

_"I didn't mean for it to happen! I swear I didn't!"_

Those words rang throughout Gwen's mind as she held closer the quaking boy in her arms, careful not to wake the other campers, whom had huddled around her that night. At the moment, it just hadn't seemed true, that someone as tiny and fragile as Max could possibly be the cause of such a heartbroken day of silence and depression, there was no way that he could have known! He was just playing around! Had just intended to mess around until he got yelled at! Never could he have ever even _thought_ about truly... well... _killing David_.

_"Oh, little Maxwell, and others; no one ever means for these sort of things to happen, but it is my job to tell you that your beloved David is dead. No longer coming back. And if it weren't for you, he would still be here."_

Gwen seethed; for someone who was supposed to be turning their life around, Cameron Campbell sure had made it a point to bring on the most disturbed and heartbroken looks onto the children's faces. Each one reacted differently, some not believing the story, while others had immediately burst into tears. It didn't take long for the Quartermaster to find out, and in a sick, twisted form of humor, he decidedly asked _ALOUD_ if he should gather the body, and prove that Max was telling the truth. Once these words were said, every sense of skepticism was erased into thin air, and those who had refused to believe, suddenly joined in with their already sobbing friends. Unsurprisingly, Max was the one who took the event to heart the most, what with him actually having been there to witness it.

At first, when Max came running back to camp from the woods, screaming about how it was an accident, and how David needed help, everyone- understandably -ignored the claims. It wasn't until Max broke down, screaming about how he desperately wanted to make sure his father was okay, that everyone suddenly started to have at least some sort of interest. Never had the small, normally cynical child referred to David as a parental figure, and it was even rarer for Max to cry in front of others, especially with such fervor. When word got to Gwen and Campbell, it was agreed that Gwen was more qualified to go look, whilst Campbell took it upon himself to- in a very half assed manner -claim that things would be 'Okay or whatever." if Gwen remembered correctly.

_"I just wanted to get on his nerves, make him yell at me, or chase me around! I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, or where I was going, and I just slipped! There was this river, and David pulled me up, a-and pushed me back! Then t-the ground sank in, and he fell in the water, and I couldn't see him! And... and... oh God! It's MY FAULT! It was an accident! I never meant to do it!"_

A tear fell from Gwen's eye, and it dropped onto Max's cheek, waking him up, and causing him to whimper, immediately remembering why he was in this position. The whimpers soon turned into sobs, and sobs into wails, alerting the other campers of the situation, and causing them to cry out as well. Which was unfortunate. Normally, kids like Neil and Nurf were heavy sleepers, and usually not affected by feelings such as sadness. Now, however? It only made sense that they were on edge and easily startled.

The crying went on for a good while, as Gwen found it difficult to get the children back to sleep, having to assure them that everything would be better in the morning. Obviously, this wasn't true, but it was better than nothing. So, with a lot of reluctance, everyone fell asleep, huddling as close to Gwen as possible.

When the day rolled around, everyone was reluctant to get up, having become accustomed to being so close in one small night. Whispers of "Good morning" and "How're you holding up?" filled the cabin, whilst Gwen went through her daily routine in the cabin bathroom. The whispers soon died down as Gwen returned, each of the campers looking to the floor.

"It's fine, guys. You don't have to act so tough. Grieving takes time, and it would unhealthy to-"

"Oh, don't even _TRY_ with that shit! You aren't David, and you never will be!" Max screamed, scrambling to his feet, and flailing around as Nurf and Ered kept Max at bay. "Don't you _EVER_ try to be David! He wasn't just some idiot chock full of bad advice and softness! He was... he... _HE WAS MY DAD! AND YOU COULD NEVER REPLACE HIM!"_

"Whoa little dude, calm down. Take a breather." Ered instructed, doing her best to rebuild her cool act, despite having been equally as broken. "She just wants to help."

"I don't want her help! I want my dad, and I want him _now!"_ Max retorted, struggling even more against Nurf's hold. In a rush, Nikki and Neil were doing their best to calm Max down, followed by Harrison, Preston, and Nerris, who all took turns in doing tricks to take Max's mind off the situation. Harrison casually hummed- though it was obviously forced -before waving his hat around, reaching into it, and pulling out Mr. Honeynuts. Almost instantly, Max whimpered and sobbed, grunting as he was let go, giving him the ability to hug his bear close. This was followed by Nerris, who rolled a few dice, and smiled, declaring that she had rolled a mandatory stress hug. Despite feeling as if that wasn't even a thing, Max accepted the hug, feeling a bit grossed out by the fact that the others joined in, but saying nothing on it. Finally, as if reading Max's mind, Preston simply made a small explosion sound, throwing confetti in the air, and smiling to his best ability.

Nothing needed to be said from there, and Gwen knew this, walking around the small huddle of children, and opening the door. The large group of eyes fell upon her face, and she gestured to the mess hall, spirits lifted slightly as the group decided to move. Mutters and hushed words of comfort filled the silence, accompanied by the occasional clink of a fork or spook against the food trays. All was as peaceful as could be, and Gwen would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked by the atmosphere. Though, she understood where said atmosphere came from.

Denial.

Nobody wanted to believe that David was gone. And that was okay. It was okay for the denial to last as long as needed. Granted, the kids would most likely be devastated when they had to go back home- probably early, considering how it was required by law that their parents were called after such an event -and they would probably even be depressed for a while, but that was normal, right? For kids to get depressed? Maybe not because of the fact that they'd lost who had pretty much become a family member to them, but that was still a possible factor.

A low groan was all that Gwen let out of her mouth, tears threatening to spill as she looked around. Everyone had much less excitement than normal, and they simply poked at their food. All of which was expected. What hadn't been expected, was the sight of Max standing in front of a corner, giggling and sniffling as if he were talking to a long-lost family member. Soon enough, the other children looked to the corner as well, rushing up behind him, and talking into the corner excitedly. Raising a brow, Gwen squinted, trying to see what the fuss was about, and finding nothing in turn.

Meanwhile, Max and his friends were looking at the cheery spirit of their favorite counselor, who gladly did all he could to cheer them up. Each child got their own final words of encouragement, somehow managing to find closure in such an unorthodox way. Of course, this closure was unparalleled to that which Max felt, as he heard the encouraging words of how he could do whatever it is he wanted to, were he to put his mind to it. And he took these words to heart.

Followed by the sharp butcher knife that he had drove into his chest, right in front of his friends. Gasps of terror followed the action, and terrified screams followed the gasps. Once again, had the children been exposed to such awful events, but Max didn't care. He honestly couldn't. All that mattered to him at the moment, was the face that he could once again bury his face into the chest of the man who had practically raised him over the summer. The man who he was now comfortable with sharing every feeling he had in life. And the man who was shocked to see how his young camper had died with the widest of smiles on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like I could have gone somewhere else with this, but I wanted to end it on a somewhat "Happy in a Disturbing Way" note. If you would like to see more fics like this, just say so, and I may get encouraged enough to make a little multi-chapter drabble fic. :D


End file.
